JNCC and
Marine Scotland Science staff set sail on the RV Scotia on the morning of Monday
18th July for a 17 day scientific survey to establish the first
point in monitoring time series at Geikie Slide and Hebridean Slope Nature
Conservation MPA. The MPA, one of the 30 Nature Conservation Marine Protected
Areas (MPAs) designated in July 2014, is located on the Hebridean continental
slope; north-west of the Outer Hebrides.
The MPA,
which in part is named after the famous Scottish geologist Sir Archibald Geikie,
is designated to protect a range of sedimentary habitat types that are home to
a diverse array of marine animals.
What is
particularly special about this site from a biological viewpoint is the way
that marine animals present on the Hebridean slope change with depth. On the
upper slope where sediments are much coarser, we may expect to survey
communities typical of rocky reefs such as sponges and crinoids (e.g. feather
stars). Further down into the murky depths of the site towards the Rockall
Trough, we can expect to find muddier habitats where communities of the bushy
sea pen and large burrowing crustaceans call this environment their home.
In this
relatively data limited site, we plan to use a combination of video tows to
better characterise the range of communities present across different depth
zones within the site, as well as taking samples of the seabed using a grabbing
device known as a box corer. Having completed a successful ‘wet test’ of the
equipment near Fraserburgh, the survey team are now all set to spring into
action once we reach our survey destination: ETA 7pm on 19th July.
Further
information on the Geikie Slide and Hebridean Slope Nature Conservation MPA is
available on JNCC’s Site Information Centre.
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| © JNCC (2016) |
